My Last Bite: Big eaters will enjoy R.B.I.’s

ROCKFORD — At R.B.I.’s you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner, dance the night away, host private parties, have a simple beer, have your meal delivered and now enjoy some video gambling action.

“Our slogan is ‘R.B.I.’s, your place for every taste,’ ” said co-owner Andy Roiniotis. R.B.I.’s, on the southwest corner of East Riverside Boulevard and Perryville Road, is one of three restaurants Roiniotis owns with Denny Trakas. The others are Onyx in Machesney Park and The District in downtown Rockford. All together, the three restaurants employ more than 100 people.

On this day, reporter Greg Stanley and I were there just for the lunch fare, still it was hard to pin Roiniotis down on exactly what was best on the menu.

Being Tuesday, Roiniotis said we had to try the Tuesday special of Greek tacos — the fathers of both Roiniotis and Trakas came from the same Greek village of Nestani at the foot of the mountain Artemisio. They were $1.69 each.

Stanley, being a Wisconsin boy and thus a connoisseur of all things beef, tried the Cajun burger ($8.99 with a side). Me, needing to boost my protein levels to continue donating plasma, opted for the chicken bacon panini (also $8.99 with a side).

I definitely got a boost. R.B.I.’s is not for small eaters. The tacos featured gyro meat with melted feta cheese, tomato and onion inside a soft tortilla.

Stanley’s burger came with an overflowing cup of coleslaw with a large patty, gobs of cheese, specially mixed Cajun spice seasonings on a toasted bun.

My panini came on Focaccia break, which is an oven-baked Italian bread topped with herbs. The bread was a standout.

“Fresh bread is the key. We get fresh bread delivered every day,” Roiniotis said.

Roiniotis said he and Trakas change the menus about twice a year at each of the restaurants to entice diners back. He said R.B.I.’s is more of a burger, chicken sandwich crowd, while they sell more salads and wraps at The District. At Onyx, chicken wings are the top sellers.

“We’ve been doing this a long time,” he said. R.B.I.’s will celebrate its eighth anniversary in November. Onyx opened in 2011 and The District in 2012. “It’s like this. I’m the gas peddle. Denny is the brakes.”